In a student leadership program, one of the most important areas is trust. Many teens lack self-confidence, but most would agree that confidence is an essential attribute for leaders. It is particularly important for adolescents to develop confidence, as the teenage years can be especially difficult.
Q. But how do you acquire confidence?
A. It develops over time by working on skills, trying new things, and overcoming challenges on the path to success.
In other words, you don’t wait for confidence to kick in to try new things, you try new things, and as you master them, you grow in confidence.
the ACT formula
Just think of the three-letter word ACT and you’ll remember what to do to build your confidence.
“A” is for Action
To build trust, it is important to take action. Without action, nothing can be accomplished and lethargy can take over. Action is required to try new things and take on challenges. Persistence is also necessary because you may need to try something many times before you succeed. Confidence cannot grow without effort, and it develops as you become more competent at your task.
“C” is for Courage
Courage is sometimes confused with confidence. To clarify, trust is something you have when you feel sure of the outcome, and courage It’s what you need to keep acting when you don’t know the result.
Where can you get courage? There are many ways. Courage can come from the encouragement of other people, from inspiring books, audios or videos, and from creating it within yourself.
Courage is needed to try things that worry you before having developed confidence. Effective leaders use courage to face difficult problems and new challenges.
“T” is for target
When taking a trip, how do you know when you will arrive if you don’t know where you are going? The same is true in life. Since in order to be successful and build trust, you need to achieve, exceed, develop…something, you first need a clear goal to aim for: a vision of what you want the outcome to be.
Then you need to teach your students to set the goals that will lead them to their goal. This allows them to focus and keeps them moving forward. As students continue to make progress toward their goals, their confidence will grow.
The ACT three-step formula is a great way for teens to learn how to gain confidence. By following the ACT Formula, teens will learn how to take action, create value, and achieve goals, and in doing so, they will develop leadership skills that will make them more successful leaders.